When Wes and I took off to the Bahamas I filled my suitcase with yummy reading materials – magazines that had sat for a few months, and some fun beach reading. I spent most of my time sightseeing with Wes, though, and didn’t get much reading done.

Sort of humorous then that I started reading A Trip to the Beach by Melinda and Robert Blanchard. The story: Melinda and Robert abandon their life in Vermont to move to Anguilla and open a restaurant. The surprising part: the book isn’t fiction. The Blanchards truly did move to Anguilla and open a restaurant. This book is a collection of memories, anecdotes, recipes and island experiences as the Blanchards adapt from New England to island time and find a new home living the rest of their days on the beach. It was a great read and perfect to take on our trip.

The second book I took, but didn’t read until we got back, was Sick Puppy by Carl Hiaasen. Much like Skinny Dip this is a book written about the most dysfunctional people an author could dream of. The story starts with an abhorrent litterbug and the vaguely disturbed young man who decides to teach this piece of garbage a lesson in tidying up. This is a quick read, and laugh out loud funny.